Rod question

[Sbflomike]

New member so I apologize if this is not the correct forum. I fish Lake Erie for walleye and perch and dont mind the fun bass!

I have several Ugly Stick and Pflueger spinning rods. I mostly would cast and jig but last season I started trolling. I still love my spinning combos but to troll for walleye this year I was debating between a couple different combos. All are trolling rods with line counting reels but I have a couple questions...

I was debating between the Okuma great lakes trolling combo, the Ugly Stick Walleye combo and the Ugly Stick Bigwater combo 8'3".

What struck me as odd was the 'power' on the Bigwater rod was light, different than the others which are medium/light to heavy. What's up with that? Then the Ugly Stick Walleye rod is medium/light. My regular spinning rods are all medium and the bend they give are more that enough, especially trying to troll crankbaits lol.

You guys have any thoughts on this?

[mr 580]

Welcome to the forum and big water trolling.  I’m not a fan of rod/reel combo packages.  IMO you get a better bang for your bucks by building your own package and going to a mid price reel over the lower priced reels on the starter rigs.  I tell guys put the money in the reel - for trolling you can use a lower priced rod.  You’ll need specific rods for board rods, leadcore, divers and riggers.  A good tackle store should be able to help you.

[Sbflomike]

Thank you, great info! But as far as the rod goes, I'm still confused as to why an 8'3" trolling rod would have a 'light' power classification. My 7' spinning rods which are medium have a lot of tip activity when trolling 40' +  . Throw a crankbait on and it's even more active. I bought an Ugly Stick 8'3" Bigwater rod and like the flexibility of the rod but a little confused about it being light action. Most trolling rods I see are at least a medium. 

[RD9]

I also hate the rod weight classification best to shop in person and get a good idea of feel. The 8’3” rod you referenced is a good all around rod. I run a mix of different rods for different applications. I like the Daiwa Great Lakes series. 8 ft medium action is a good rod for all applications beside dipsey. 

[Sbflomike]

Thanks RD!

[mr 580]

Seems each rod manufacturer rates rods by their own standards- like Ron says feel is best way to judge.  Daiwa Great Lakes are a good choice and Okuma has some as well.  Key is to go to a shop with a selection and have someone help you.

[sherman brown]

go to fishusa.com and get the wilderness trolling rods in 8' med or med/light for 19.99 each. they are what you need for trolling. then get a good reel to go on them. try to get daiwa accupepth plus reels or a step up to the okuma convector or a step higher and get the daiwa sealine reelst stay away from the okuma magda reels if possible..

[Sbflomike]

Great advice thanks!